There’s a very real concern that robots could eventually make some of our jobs obsolete. But at a robot-only sports competition in China over the weekend, the immediate concern was that they would fall over or crash into each other.
The Humanoid Robot Games, a three-day event in Beijing that ended on Sunday, featured more than 280 teams from universities and private companies in 16 countries. Some robots landed back flips and successfully navigated obstacle courses and rough terrain.
In other cases, the robots’ athletic ability left, well, something to be desired.
During soccer matches, child-size ones tripped over each other, falling down like dominoes. One goalkeeper robot stood placidly as its opponent kicked a ball at its legs several times before finally managing to score.
One robot by China’s Unitree Robotics plowed into a human staff member while sprinting during a track event, knocking him down.
In kickboxing matches, robots wearing colorful gloves and head gear struggled to land punches.
“To be honest, the hit rate is a little low,” a commentator said in the event’s official livestream. “They’re punching the air.”
After a few minutes of flailing jabs and kicks, the referee declared one robot the winner. It raised its gloved hands and pumped them in the air to the sound of spectators applauding, while its opponent laid down in an apparent show of defeat.
The event was China’s latest high-profile robotics showcase. During China’s Lunar New Year’s Eve television gala, watched by hundreds of millions of people, humanoid robots performed folk dances. In April, the Beijing municipal government held a half-marathon for 12,000 runners and 20 humanoid robots.
China is trying to make rapid advancements in robotics, propelled by government directives and massive investments. Robots powered by artificial intelligence have already revolutionized manufacturing in the country. That has brought down operating costs and in some cases helped companies withstand President Trump’s tariffs.
Beijing officials told the domestic news media that the Humanoid Robot Games were a test of cutting-edge advancements in robotics technology.
The test revealed limitations, but also possibilities.
“Despite the pratfalls, significant progress in robot locomotion and balance is being achieved including back flips, side flips, and other acrobatic and martial arts moves,” said Ken Goldberg, a robotics professor at the University of California, Berkeley
One robot from Unitree Robotics won the gold medal for the 1,500 meter indoor track event with a time of six minutes and 34.40 seconds. The speed was impressive, Professor Goldberg said. Although the robot was far slower than the human who holds the record in that event (Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway, who finished in 3:29.63), it was faster than many nonprofessional human runners.
Some entrepreneurs believe that humanoid robots will one day do many physical tasks now handled by people, including household chores, warehouse jobs and factory labor. But for now, even simple tasks like loading the dishwasher are anything but simple for them.
Alan Fern, a robotics professor at Oregon State University, said that the Humanoid Robot Games helped to “give the public a realistic impression of where things really are.”
Professor Fern said the games highlighted rapid advancements in the industry. One is that manufacturing of humanoid robots has developed enough that researchers no longer need to pay exorbitant amounts of money to buy them, or build their own, as they did only a year or two ago.
Another is that advancements in artificial intelligence allow the machines to do a wider range of basic tasks. Five years ago, “it was rare to see a humanoid robot that could reliably walk, let alone run, jump, or handle rough terrain,” he said.
But Professor Fern said the type of robots used in the games are generally not equipped for higher-level functions like planning or reasoning and usually need a human operator to help guide them.
“The robots are still dumb,” he said.